Norberry Dental Centre – Root Canal

Root canals notoriously have a bad reputation – fear not! They actually function to relieve pain caused by dead or abscessed teeth. Root canals are essentially a filling, but for the root (below the gums) rather than the crown (above the gums) of a tooth. Like fillings, they are performed with freezing in place, and are usually pain free. An access hole is made through the top of the tooth and long, thin files are used to clean out the infected pulp, or nerve, of the tooth. The nerve chamber is then rinsed with disinfectant and filled with a warm rubbery compound to seal off the tooth and prevent reinfection from bacteria.

After a root canal treatment, your tooth has to be restored (fixed) to look, feel and work as much like a natural tooth as possible. If an endodontist performed your root canal treatment, he or she will fill the opening of the tooth with a temporary filling and send you back to your dentist for tooth restoration.

Your dentist may use a permanent filling or a crown to restore your tooth. The choice of restoration will depend on the strength of the part of the tooth that’s left. A back tooth will likely need a crown because chewing puts a great deal of force on back teeth. If there is not enough of the tooth left, posts may be used to help support the crown.

A Healthy Tooth

An Abscessed Tooth

If the pulp becomes infected, it needs to be removed. An abscessed tooth may cause pain and/or swelling. Your dentist may notice the infection from a dental x-ray or from other changes with the tooth. If left untreated, an abscessed tooth can cause serious oral health problems.When bacteria (germs) enter your tooth through deep cavities, cracks or flawed fillings, your tooth can become abscessed. An abscessed tooth is a tooth with an infection in the pulp (nerve).

Your dentist may do root canal treatment or refer you to an endodontist. An endodontist is a dentist who has completed a university post-graduate specialty program in endodontics. Endodontics is a specialty of dentistry concerned with the treatment of the dental pulp or nerve of the tooth.  Contact the dentists at Norberry Dental Centre to book a consultation.